Great African Reads discussion

Chapter 18...

Like the South African chapter gave me a sense of anxiety, this one gave me excited butterflies in the stomach.

The phones seem like both a system and a marker for change!

I also liked the references to Ghana, where I lived for a while. In fact, I was always surprised to see tiny villages - 10 mud and thatch huts, no electricity - with a single, colourfully-painted mobile phone card booth. I never did quite figure out where those villages charged their phones.

And his reference to the rainforest canopy walk, where the majority of the tourists were Ghanians themselves - and entirely unfamiliar with the wild terrain - was exactly what I noticed while there myself (he's talking about Kakum Rainforest, I'm sure).

Finally, this chapter really made me think my high school/early university excitement over the Millennium Development Goals. I can't help but think of disability rights activities slogan "Nothing About Us Without Us". The MDGs weren't created by Africans. In a lot of ways, it was just a new colonialism. And it's not even the aid money that really matters.

As the author says many people think: "Money is not the answer. . . but it could help if everything else was in place."

It makes me wonder if there's really anything the West (or East, for that matter) can do - or if it's all up to Africa alone.